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Vinyl enthusiasts gathered at shops downtown on Saturday, April 12 to celebrate Record Store Day. The unofficial holiday honors independently-owned record stores and the role they play in their communities. Warm and sunny weather made for an ideal day of searching for exclusive releases and classic records.
Conveniently located within walking distance of each other, two Evanston small businesses — Vintage Vinyl and Animal Records — participated in Record Store Day. Both displayed exclusive records from artists like Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, The Cure, Post Malone and Taylor Swift, among many others.
Vintage Vinyl, 925 Davis St., already had a crowd standing outside the store before it opened at 11 a.m. The shop has celebrated the occasion for its entire existence, according to owner Steve Kay. He said the day remains special for music enthusiasts and collectors, both old and new.
A crowd gathers outside Vintage Vinyl ahead of its 11 a.m. opening on Record Store Day. Credit: Rudy Ruiz
“The initial intention of Record Store Day was to remind music fans and record collectors that there are brick-and-mortar shops where they can find not only the music they know and love,” Kay explained, “but a place where they can discover new music and meet new people that will broaden their horizons and make new connections.”
The store was busy throughout the day as people browsed records of all genres in the store’s ground and lower levels. Kay also noted how the holiday “tends to bring new people to the shop for something specific, with the hope that they will return wanting to continue their journey through musical history.”
Just around the corner at Animal Records, 624 Grove St., owner Greg Allen was excited to celebrate the shop’s first Record Store Day (it opened last September). He provided goodie bags with buttons, stickers and animal crackers to all who stopped by.
Animal Records at 624 Grove St. Credit: Rudy Ruiz
The store opened at 8 a.m. — earlier than usual — to let people browse for their favorite records bright and early. As a relatively new storefront in downtown Evanston, Allen made an effort to introduce himself to everyone and struck up lots of conversations about albums.
“Record Store Day brings in a large number of customers who may have never visited our store before, and we have the chance to learn what those customers like and to hopefully make them want to come back throughout the year,” he said.
A large number of exclusive releases generated excitement this year, with many selling out early in the day. Allen said he wanted customers to know ahead of time about the specific records on sale for the celebration, so the store displayed a list of every single release in its window. He added that he believes in being transparent with customers about his inventory.
Animal Records employee Aidan with the list of Record Store Day releases. Credit: Greg Allen
Record Store Day festivities included live music by Chicago musicians Nikki O’Neill and Joe Di Zillo outside Animal Records. They played behind the store as customers flipped through albums.
Animal Records owner Greg Allen (center) talks to a customer. Credit: Rudy Ruiz
Nikki O’Neill (front) performs outside Animal Records. Credit: Rudy Ruiz
As record store owners and music fans, both Kay and Allen highlighted what they see as the unique quality of physical media, whether that’s a CD or vinyl. The rise of streaming means that people can listen to music any time now, but Allen said nothing compares to the sound of a needle hitting a turntable.
“People love to look at the artwork and read the lyrics and the details about the songs, and to display the covers as art on their shelf,” he said. “Physical media like records forces the listener to be involved with placing the item onto their stereo, and become more involved and attentive versus just streaming music in the background. Personally, I think nothing sounds as good as a well-produced vinyl record.”
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